The Importance of Gratitude

I can honestly admit that when I was younger, I took so many things for granted. I never really took notice of the big picture and how so many things are interconnected. That has changed as I have gotten older and the funny thing is that I know that the more appreciative I've become, the happier in life I've been.

We can come up with a list of all sorts of things that we don't have and that we want to have. But do we really take the time to be thankful for what we have right now? I think if we did this a little more, we would see that in most cases we certainly have a lot to be thankful for. It might take a change of mind in order to begin to appreciate what are considered to be the "simple" things of life. But I can tell you from personal experience, the more gratitude you have in your heart, the happier you will be. To not appreciate those good things that we have right in front of our faces will make us bitter people.
 

Not only is it important for us to be appreciative but it is also good for our health to have others appreciate us. When is the last time someone said “Thank you” to you or other compliments such as “good job” and “we appreciate you”? Doesn't it feel good to be appreciated? I'm sure others feel the same way when we appreciate them. How much better our society would be if it were one of true appreciation of one another. 

There are some of us who do a wonderful job at being gracious for the things that others do for us and there are others of us that could use some work in that department. It's okay if you need work because I've been there too. The cool thing about knowing you need to work at something is that you can get better at it and improve in it. Sometimes it is very easy to take people for granted and to live by the mantra that the good things that people do are simply what they are SUPPOSED to do. There is a danger in living by this ideology in that it creates a very unappreciative expectation in others and such persons can end up living out a very sour existence. Think about how a mother or father who has been a fabulous parent to their children only to have their children tell them that they didn't feel they had to thank them because parenting them was what they were supposed to do. Wouldn't that be terrible if you were that parent who poured into your childrens' lives and yet they could never tell you even a simple "thank you?"

I present another example that most of us would be familiar with--the restaurant experience. As a customer, when we go into the restaurant, we have a greeter who welcomes us to the establishment and leads us to our respective seats. Within minutes, a waiter or waitress that we become familiar with throughout the remainder of our dining experience comes to ask if we would like anything to drink. We give him or her the order and within minutes, we have that delivered directly to our table. Next, we may order appetizers or get right into the main course. Just like the drinks, we will soon have our order of food delivered directly to our table. Anything we order, it is delivered to us. The only time we would have to get up would be to go to the restroom, deal with an emergency or to leave the restaurant after we've finished our meals. What we are receiving is service and hospitality.

The real test of gratitude arrives when the bill does. How many waiters and waitresses do a phenomenal job, along with the other members of their team in the restaurant, only to get stiffed in their tips when the proper time comes for their reward? Most of them go out of their way to provide outstanding service, only to receive a measly three-percent tip. It's terrible but also very indicative of how we can consume the efforts of others in our society without an ounce of appreciation. What is happening in the restaurants also happens to parents and children in the home, husbands and wives in marriage, workers in the workplace, teachers in the classroom and I could give so many other examples. I can not even begin to tell you how many people I know who go to work for a company every day and feel as if their time and efforts are not appreciated at all. This shouldn't be.

Maybe one of the reasons why we deal with so much depression in this country is because we don't have a heart of gratitude as a whole. Even though the conveniences and luxuries we enjoy many times come from the work of the impoverished and those with significantly lesser income, we still find reasons to complain about how we don't have enough. Instead of being content, there is always the desire for more. Now, there is nothing wrong with wanting better and wanting to do better, but when we come to a place when we can't even appreciate what we have, that's a problem. Of course, our mainstream media and entertainment play a huge role in this as well because you're always being treated to a barrage of in-your-face and subliminal advertisements that help to create that craving of never being satisfied.

For me, my relationship with Jesus Christ has given me a heart of gratitude and allowed me to see just how I lacked that before I followed him. From there, I appreciate everything in my life even down to the fact that I am still breathing when I wake up in the morning. Gratitude has also played a significant part as to why I can still be the happiest I've ever been even though my life was turned upside down two years ago when I was diagnosed with End Stage Renal (Kidney) Failure. It has served me well and that is why I want to share this with you today.

So if you're having trouble being happy, it won't hurt to be a bit more thankful.

Until next time,

LandoRigs